Overview
Each player takes the role of a Directeur Sportif of a professional cycling team riding in the Tirreno-Adriatico race.
The aim of the contest is to select the best possible team of nine riders, while operating within the conditions set on team selection.
The better your racers perform during each event, the more points they will accumulate for your fantasy squad.
Important Notice
Velogames Fantasy Cycling is not an official partner of, nor claims any association with, any professional cycling race organisation, any international sporting body or any professional cycling team.
Team Entry
You must use the Official Entry Form to submit your team. The Entry Form will be made available once the game is open for entries.
Only one team is allowed per player. Multiple team entries by a single player in a single contest is not allowed and could lead to teams being disqualified from the game. If multiple teams are found, only the last team entered by the player will be accepted as the official entry.
Entry Deadline
The deadline for entries to be submitted is 12:45 CET (Central European Time) on Monday 6th March 2023. That is 11:45 in the UK, and 06:45 on the US East Coast. Make sure to check how your own time zone differs from Central European Time to make sure you meet the entry deadline!
Team Selection Criteria
In order that each player creates a balanced team, the following important constraint is placed on team selection:
Team Budget
Teams are given 100 velocredits to select their riders. Velocredits are the Velogames currency. Each rider is given a value in velocredits, based on their prospective points-scoring abilities. The velocredits values are based on past results and recent form, with an emphasis towards those riders who have been successful in past editions of the event.
There are no other team selection criteria apart selecting 9 riders and staying within the 100 velocredit limit. Unlike in the Fantasy Grand Tour game format, rider classes do not apply.
Team Changes
Once you have selected a team of 9 riders and they have started stage one of the event, you may not replace them during the race.
There will be no rider substitutions during the race, even if riders abandon during the race. The 9 riders that you start the tour with will be the only riders who will score you points during the event.
You can make unlimited changes to your team up until the entry deadline of 12:45 CET (Central European Time) on Monday 6th March 2023. Simply click the Change Riders button on your team page to reselect your squad.
Only the last team entered by each player will be activated as an official entry.
It is the responsibility of each directeur to manage their own team line-up as the entry deadline approaches, although Velogames will provide a status for each rider showing whether or not they are on the most recent start-list.
Automatic Rider Replacements for non-starting riders
It is the responsibility of each directeur to manage their own team line-up as the entry deadline approaches.
Velogames will provide an indicator on each team roster page in the run-up to the start of the race, showing the status of each rider regarding whether or not they are on the most recent start-list.
If, for any reason, a rider does not start the race, they will be replaced in each Velogames team with a suitable replacement, determined by Velogames. Where possible, this replacement be a a rider from the same pro team as the non-starting rider, at a similar credit value. Where such a rider is not available, another rider of similar credit value (or the next available lesser price bracket) will be selected, based on the order of riders in the Velogames database. The decision of Velogames regarding which replacement riders are substituted in is final!
No automatic substitutions will be made for riders who drop out after the race begins - they are only used to ensure that each team starts the race with a full squad of nine riders.
Scoring
Your riders score points for their real-life performances in the race, based on the Scoring System. You can also follow the Scoing System link in the main navigation menu for the detailed scores.
At the end of the event, the team whose riders have amassed the most points is declared the winner of the contest.
Official Results
Scores become "confirmed" for Velogames purposes at 23:00 CET during the evening on the day of each stage.
If a rider is removed from the race standings after this deadline, for any reason, the points gained for that stage will stand.
Immediate disqualifications or declassifications (such as for irregular sprinting) will be taken into account when deciding the allocated points, as long as these penalties are announced before 23:00 CET.
Back-dated disqualifications and reversal of results (even for doping offences) will not be taken into account after the 23:00 CET deadline, and the rider will keep his points.
This rule certainly should not be viewed as an acceptance of doping. The technical and gameplay issues surrounding back-dated scoring adjustments are difficult. Also, it is not fair to excessively punish players who have selected a rider in good faith, even if that rider is subsequently exposed as a cheater.
Neutralised and Cancelled Stages
If the race is neutralised for any reason by riders or race organisation, then no stage points (finish, sprints, summits, breaks or stage assists) will be distributed following the point of neutralisation.
If sprint, summits or the breakaway points zone have been reached prior to neutralisation, this points will be added as normal.
Classification points (including team and overall classification assists) will be added to team totals as normal at the culmination of the stage.
Daily classification points will also be awarded as normal in the event of a complete stage cancellation.
Update Schedule
A scoring update will be made on the evening of each stage.
A supplementary scoring adjustment could be made if there are changes in the official published results before the official 23:00 CET scoring deadline.
The aim is to make a daily update. In instances where it is not possible to update the site on a daily basis, a full update will be made as soon as possible to keep the scoring information up-to-date.
Prizes
Entry into the contest is free-to-play, and no prizes are on offer except eternal pride for the winner!